Thursday, March 1, 2012

Andrew Breitbart dead at 43.(Fox).Widely read conservative Internet publisher Andrew Breitbart has died, his attorney confirms. The websites he founded ran a statement Thursday morning announcing that Breitbart, 43, died "unexpectedly from natural causes" in Los Angeles shortly after midnight.
"We have lost a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a dear friend, a patriot and a happy warrior," the statement said. "Andrew lived boldly, so that we more timid souls would dare to live freely and fully, and fight for the fragile liberty he showed us how to love."Breitbart was a prolific commentator who founded several websites devoted to covering politics, entertainment and everything in between. Earlier in his career, he worked for the Drudge Report before breaking off to start his own outlets -- including Big Government, Big Hollywood and Breitbart.tv. The statement on his sites quoted the concluding passage from his book, Righteous Indignation.
"I love my job. I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it. I love reporting stories that the Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and-famously-I enjoy making enemies. Three years ago, I was mostly a behind-the-scenes guy who linked to stuff on a very popular website. I always wondered what it would be like to enter the public realm to fight for what I believe in. I've lost friends, perhaps dozens. But I've gained hundreds, thousands -- who knows? -- of allies. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror, and I sleep very well at night," he wrote.
The statement ended: "Andrew is at rest, yet the happy warrior lives on, in each of us."
Breitbart was walking near his house in the Brentwood neighborhood shortly after midnight Thursday when he collapsed, his father-in-law Orson Bean said.
Someone saw him fall and called paramedics, who tried to revive him. They rushed him to the emergency room at UCLA Medical Center, Bean said. Breitbart had suffered heart problems a year earlier, but Bean said he could not pinpoint what happened.Those who knew and worked with him described Breitbart almost uniformly as "fearless," sharply intelligent, witty and devoted to his work.
"He was the modern conservative iteration of a 1960s radical," conservative commentator Jonah Goldberg told Fox News, minutes after Breitbart's death was reported.
"When I say he was the most fearless guy I ever knew, it really is true. I mean, he truly loved the fight," he said. News of Breitbart's death reverberated on Capitol Hill and on the presidential campaign trail. Rick Santorum said he was "crestfallen."
"What a powerful force," Santorum said. "What a huge loss, in my opinion, for our country and certainly for the conservative movement."
Breitbart is survived by his wife Susannah Bean Breitbart, 41, and four children.Source.

Ron Paul, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton in agreement over Apology for Qur'an Burning.(BN).Ron Paul is really courting that Muslim vote. I no sooner posted the link to the Big Peace article in which his campaign volunteers posted a flyer in Arabic that touted him as the candidate who would cut-off aid to Israel, when I noticed this.He is in agreement with the apology Obama issued to Hamid Karzai over the Qur'an burnings. He expressed this sentiment while questioning Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.Via the National Journal: Bringing up the scandal provoked by a viral video depicting American Marines urinating on Taliban corpses, Paul voiced his overall opposition to the war that created thousands of refugees in the country."Does it ever get to the point where apologizing about the Koran is rather minor, considering some of the other problems we have created in [Afghanistan]?" Paul asked.Clinton said she appreciated Paul's measured comments about Obama and other presidents offering apologies "when we are deeply sorry for unfortunate incidents that occur, that were not intentional, and which we know have emotional resonance with people."The premise a vast majority of the Pauliens operate from is one that says the U.S. Government (not Islamic terrorists) is responsible for the 9/11 attacks. As such, the inclination is to believe that the former is a greater threat than the latter. By their own admission, the Pauliens will tell you that the Islamic threat is overrated.Again, the only way these comments by Paul are not viewed as out of bounds is if you believe the government is worse than the terrorists.The 9/11 Truth crowd has found that the springboard for its conspiratorial beliefs is placing them in the camp of America's true enemies.Apparently, as an added bonus, the more Paul talks like this, the more he garners Muslim / anti-Semitic votes.Read the full story here.

Judicial Watch Files Brief with U.S. Supreme Court Challenging Constitutionality of Obamacare.(BG).On February 13, 2012, Judicial Watch filed an amicus curiae brief with the High Court challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare, specifically the “individual mandate.” The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for the Obamacare case on March 26, 27, and 28, 2012.The brief maintains that the “individual mandate” provision of Obamacare, which requires every American citizen to purchase health care insurance or pay a penalty, is unconstitutional – whether considered under Congress’ commerce power or taxing power: Petitioners are trying to defend a provision in an act passed by Congress that exceeds its enumerated powers. Though Congress enacted this provision under the Commerce Clause, Congress’ power under the clause is not broad enough to compel Americans to engage in commerce by purchasing a particular product. Though Petitioners try to rescue the provision by arguing that it is valid under Congress’ taxing power even if it is invalid under Congress’ commerce power, a provision of an act that is not a tax may not be construed as a tax merely to save it from being declared unconstitutional.Judicial Watch lawyers point out that if the Supreme Court affirms the constitutionality of the individual mandate, “it must be willing to hold that Congress’ powers under the Commerce clause are plenary and unlimited, for there remains no principled way to limit Congress’ power if it is stretched as far as Petitioners [the Obama administration] ask.”Florida federal district judge Roger Vinson perhaps put it more colorfully when he struck down the law in its entirety last year. If the government can force American taxpayers to buy health insurance, it can also force them to decide “whether and when (or not) to buy a house, a car, a television, a dinner or even a morning cup of coffee.”The Judicial Watch amicus was filed in support of a challenge to Obamacare by Florida and 25 other states.Demonstrating the importance of the legal battle over Obamacare, the Supreme Court will hear five-and-a-half hours of oral argument, a rare allotment of time in the court’s modern era. (The standard is one hour.) The Supreme Court’s scrutiny will focus on the constitutionality of the Obamacare individual mandate. However, the court will also consider whether other components of Obamacare could take effect even if the individual mandate is ruled unconstitutional, among other issues.In a December 14, 2010, editorial published in The Washington Post, Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius argued that the individual mandate is essential to Obamacare: “Without an individual responsibility provision (or mandate), controlling costs and ending discrimination against people with preexisting conditions doesn’t work.”In other words, not even the Obama administration itself believes the law can survive if the individual mandate is struck down.Judicial Watch has been extremely active in the Obamacare debate right from the beginning. It has fought for transparency over the Obamacare waivers, ultimately discovering that Big Labor was taking in a disproportionate haul. It has exposed the Obama administration’s taxpayer-funded, multi-media propaganda campaign featuring television actor Andy Griffith.Judicial Watch has also fought for records detailing Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan’s involvement in any Obamacare defense discussions when she served as Obama’s Solicitor General. (It uncovered documents that raised questions about her role, causing a national uproar about her continued involvement in the High Court’s Obamacare deliberations.)The time has come for the Supreme Court to put an end to Obamacare once and for all. The President’s socialist healthcare overhaul is an affront to the U.S. Constitution’s provisions for limited government and, as you can see with the anti-religion Obamacare contraception mandate, a fundamental threat to our God-given freedoms.Read the full story here.

Obama Slashes Soldiers’ Benefits to Pay Back Healthcare Industry Donors,(BG).The Tea Party hit its stride in the summer of 2009 when concerned citizens showed up to town halls across the United States to protest the healthcare takeover law being considered in Congress. The people rightly felt that the bill’s labyrinthine and onerous regulations were corrupt and designed to increase the power of the government, line the pockets of shortsighted insurance companies, and squeeze as much blood from the country’s taxpayer turnip as possible.Just when America believed the US government health scandal couldn’t get worse, President Obama’s handlers go one step further—increasing service members’ and veterans’ medical premiums. This move is designed to push service members and veterans to opt out of Tricare and find a new insurance provider.President Obama’s new medical proposal seeks to save $1.8 billion from the Tricare medical system in the fiscal 2013 budget and $12.9 billion by 2017, the latter amount adding up to 0.99% of the $1.3 trillion deficit for a single year built into Obama’s proposed budget. To accomplish this spending reduction, service members should expect a 30% to 78% increase in Tricare annual premiums for the first year. In five years, service members will expect an increase ranging from 94% to 345%.The average annual salary for a four year single enlistee is approximately $34k. If that service member were married with dependents, the salary increases to approximately $42k. Are those numbers enough to make any sane person want to enlist today, knowing they will likely ship off to some foreign land to fight a losing war like that in Afghanistan? Are those numbers enough to justify risking one’s life–enough to afford an increased medical premium that could be raised by 78% just this year or 345% by the time their initial enlistment is over?Make no mistake; the President is downsizing our military, and this new military medical initiative is one sure way he will see volunteers leave the military knowing their benefits are jeopardized. At a time when Iran threatens the free world, Afghanistan’s violence is on a rise, and North Korea remains unstable, is now the time to play with our service members’ well-being?President Obama has taken an unprecedented action, crippling the livelihoods of our most worthy federal employees–our troops. And it’s easy to see who’s pushing for this change–the very elements that pushed for Obamacare and the recent contraception scandal, the political donors who represent America’s health industry.Our service members should never have to worry about their benefits, but today they do.They selflessly volunteer to place themselves in harm’s way believing in service before self. America must stand up for these warriors and vehemently oppose President Obama and his health industry puppet masters. They have finally crossed the line.Read the full story here.

Obama Cedes Terror Cases to Civilian Law Enforcement.(BP).From the Wall Street Journal: President Barack Obama issued an order Tuesday giving civilian investigators broad power to handle the cases of U.S. terrorism suspects despite a law passed late last year favoring military custody.The decision is likely to raise hackles among lawmakers who included the provision in the National Defense Authorization Act, and it could provide an election-year issue for Republicans.Mr. Obama signed the bill under protest Dec. 31 and attached a statement saying he intended to disregard portions interfering with his presidential powers.The law requires military detention for non-U.S. citizens accused of planning or carrying out an attack for al Qaeda and associated groups. At the White House’s insistence, it included discretion for the president to waive the requirement if necessary to avoid disrupting terrorism probes led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.Tuesday’s order takes advantage of that discretion to the fullest, preserving for the FBI and other civilian authorities the leading role in handling terrorism arrests in the U.S. Military detention would be an option in limited cases, largely at the discretion of the attorney general and federal investigators.Mr. Obama’s interpretation of the waiver authority is likely to clash with the wishes of the bipartisan group of lawmakers who pushed the military-custody provision.Republican proponents of the military-detention provision said they would hold a Senate hearing, because they believe the president’s order might violate the spirit of the law. Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire issued a statement saying they were “concerned that some of these regulations may contradict the intent of the detainee provisions” in the defense bill.Mr. Obama has also come under fire from civil libertarians who said the law could pave the way for the indefinite military detention without trial of U.S. citizens on U.S. soil. Such criticism came both from right-leaning tea-party supporters and groups on the left.Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the president should have vetoed the law, as signing it “turns the practice of indefinite military detention into a permanent part of American law.”Read the full story here.

'Missiles on Israel preferable to nuclear Iran'.(YNet).The mathematics of war: A missile salvo on the greater Tel Aviv area, thousand of rockets fired at northern Israel, terror attacks against Israeli targets overseas, scores of Israeli casualties and countless others in bomb shelters – that is how a former top Israeli official described Iran's possible reaction to an Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities. According to a Thursday report in Yedioth Ahronoth, the former official – speaking anonymously with the New York Times – detailed the formula by which Israel assessed the magnitude of Tehran's response: "1991 + 2006 + Buenos Aires, times three-to-five."In other words: The combined result of Saddam Hussein's missile attack on Israel in 1991, Hezbollah's missiles attacks on Israel during the 2006 Second Lebanon War and the terror attacks in Argentina's capital in the early 1990s – times three.These attacks claimed the lives of hundreds of Israelis and Jews and the damage to the Israeli economy amounted to billions of dollars. "Forty missiles fired at Israel are no small matter – but it's better that a nuclear Iran," he said. The New York Times said that the assessment is based on the premise that while Iran would aspire to meet any strike with force, it would prefer not to ignite a regional war. US defense experts, however, qualified the statement, saying the West's ability to accurately predict Iran's moves was limited. Washington, the report said, believes that a strike on the Islamic Republic would result in a missile barrage on Israel; but it also believes that Iran would try to somehow disguise its connection to such a counter-attack, possibly by promoting terror attacks on nations who support Israel. The Americans also believe it is likely Iran will use any such strike as a pretext to close off the Strait of Hormuz. US defense sources said that Tehran is likely to try and avoid a direct attack on American interests, because the regime knows that an American military strike will inflict significant damage. Washington does, however, think Iran will opt for an indirect assault against its interests worldwide, or against oil production facilities in the Persian Gulf.US President Barack Obama is set to speak at the next AIPAC conventions in Washington, where he is expected to detail the US' "red lines" on Iran.Hmmmm.........Rumor has it he's colorblind.Read the full story here.

Ten injured in blast near AKP building in Istanbul.(HD).Istanbul police chief Hüseyin Çapkın said ten people were injured in a blast in Istanbul this morning.Çapkın said the explosion was caused by a bomb that was remotely detonated. A blast shook Istanbul’s Sütlüce district this morning, as at least five police officers were wounded, according to news agencies. The blast took place near a midibus carrying police officers, on the İmrahor Street in a district near the Golden Horn.The location is also very near the Istanbul district office of the governing Justice and Development Party, and the headquarters of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD). The five were on duty at a building belonging to the Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (MÜSİAD), which is close to the AKP branch on İmrahor Street in Beyoğlu district’s Sütlüce neighborhood.Read the full story here.

Egypt Christian man jailed for insulting Prophet.(BM).CAIRO: Egypt has jailed a Christian man for 6 years on charges of showing contempt of religion and insulting the Prophet Mohamed, the country’s state-owned al-Ahram newspaper reported on Thursday.The court, in the southern Egyptian province of Assiut, said that Makram Diab, a school employee, had made offensive remarks against Islam’s prophet, according to the report.The remarks infuriated Diab’s Muslim colleagues, who went on strike until he was arrested and prosecuted.The sentencing comes after a Cairo court earlier this week dismissed a lawsuit against the Christian business tycoon, Naguib Sawiris, who was accused of insulting Islam by tweeting images of Mickey Mouse with a beard and his counterpart Minnie wearing a veil.Sawiris faces two other lawsuits over the same images.Recent parliamentary elections have produced a strong showing for Islamists in Egypt, sparking concerns over freedom among liberals and Christians, who make up around 10 percent of the country’s 80 million population.The ruling has left the Coptic community angered over what a number of Christian activists told Bikyamasr.com was an “attempt to create divisions” between Muslims and Christians in the country.Noha, a political studies student at Cairo University and activist who regularly participates in demonstrations for Coptic rights, argued that the government is “continuing the policy of Mubarak by jailing and even putting these people in front of a court. It is unacceptable for a country where we hoped for free speech.”The Christian community has struggled to figure out the direction of transitional Egypt in the post-uprising atmosphere.In October, a pro-Coptic rights march ended in a bloodbath after the armed forces opened fire on the thousands of protesters and run them over with armored vehicles, leaving at least 27 dead.The ruling military junta said a “third-party” was responsible for opening fire, leaving many Christians questioning if they would receive justice after decades of animosity towards their minority community.Hmmmm......Egypt.....holyday destination?Yeah whatevah.Read the full story here.

‘U.S., Iran, Brotherhood’ trio of ‘direct threat’ to Gulf says chief of Dubai’s police.(AA).Chief of Dubai Police Force and Lieutenant General, Dahi Khalfan, warned that the United States, Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood are a threat to the security of the Gulf region, a newspaper reported on Wednesday. Dahi, who was in charge of the investigation of the group suspected of killing a high-ranking Hamas official in Dubai, said in an interview published by the Kuwaiti newspaper, al-Nahar, that the ultimate goal of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists in the region is to be in power. “The Brotherhood does not want the current Gulf regimes to stay,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.Warning of another ‘Sykes–Picot’ in reference to the 1916 agreement that divided the Arab World between France and Britain, the Lieutenant General said that “there is a plan to spread chaos in the region including the GCC region. “Security in the Gulf won’t be achieved only through an agreement between GCC and Iran … Iranian officials have to stop creating political storms from time to time.”The police chief who advised Gulf States to create a confederation of unity to achieve security in the Gulf countries and in the region, showed skepticism over the Arab Spring, saying that it turned into “autumn” and has led to chaos citing Egypt as an example.Hmmmm.......Wait till it turns in to 'Nuclear Winter'.Read the full story here.

Sallah Sultan: There are media outlets aimed at distracting our young boys and girls with all kinds of… All of this is mentioned in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Nothing is new.

Interviewer: Ah, what happens is mentioned there…

Sallah Sultan: It is a plot to completely distract the youth of our nation from the cause [of Palestine] by applying pressure on these young people through various means – through sex, drugs, play, and games on the Internet. By the grace of Allah, we broke the backs of Hosni Mubarak and his henchmen. Can we not do the same with regard to this gang of cowardly sons of Zion? Allah said about them: "They will not fight you, save from fortified cities or from behind walls."

Interviewer: But if we fight Israel, we would be fighting the US as well…

Sallah Sultan: Why not? Indeed, we will fight Israel and all those who are behind it. Even if Europe in its entirety is behind it… The people of Gaza are wretched, but they are lions. They are real men. Did they not humiliate the US, Europe, and anybody who ever gave weapons, money, and aid to the Zionist entity? They entered Gaza in order to defeat it, but they were defeated themselves. Wasn't Israel defeated in Lebanon and vanquished in Gaza?

Interviewer: True.

Sallah Sultan: Allah is present in this equation, and He is capable of obliterating America and any other oppressor. This is a divine law. In a lecture in Dallas, America, I was explaining the Shu'ara chapter of the Koran, and I said: Allah destroyed the people in Noah's time for the corruption of their faith, the people of Lot for the corruption of their morality, Jethro's people for the corruption of their economy, the people of Thamud for the corruption of their industry, and Pharaoh's people for the corruption of their politics, so what can we expect when all these forms of corruption are manifest in America? He will deliver a mortal blow at a time when no one expects it.Source Memri.

Princess Basma bint Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz Aal Saud: The question that I ask myself now is how come the Islamist movement has arisen in all our countries. It is a very strange phenomenon that the Islamic movement is the only one capable of…

Interviewer: But this phenomenon is logical, isn't it?

Princess Basma bint Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz Aal Saud: In what way?

Interviewer: Because the Islamist opposition was the official, organized against the former regimes. When these regimes fell, along came the ready-made opposition. That was the case regarding the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, in Tunisia, and in Morocco [sic].

Princess Basma bint Saud bin Abd Al-Aziz Aal Saud: True, but is this what the citizen really wants? That is the question. What the citizens hope to achieve through the revolutions is civil power – the power of the individual, of the people, and of democracy. That is what we are hearing – that these revolutions brought democracy, so that the people would have a voice. Does the people really want the Islamist movement in its present form, in which it spreads terror throughout the world with its extremism? This is what we are seeing today in the websites and messages of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, in Algeria, in Tunisia, in Morocco, and even in Jordan today. The messages we are hearing are not at all reassuring, because they do not belong to moderate Islam. They are a call to extremist Islam, which has nothing to do with [true] Islam. The Prophet Muhammad brought moderation. Other religions, which exited prior to Islam, became extremist to a terrifying degree. That was why the Prophet of the Islamic nation came – in order to convey a moderate monotheistic message. Is what we are seeing today a moderate Islam? What we are seeing and hearing today about the agendas of the Salafis, the Islamists, and the Enlightened – are they moderate? In my personal opinion, they are not moderate. Instead, they are turning toward religious extremism, which suppress freedom of any kind, even if it is called by another name. Source Memri.

'US must assure Israel it'll use might to stop Iran'.(JP).The United States must assure Israel that if it delays any military moves against Iran's nuclear program, Washington will use its own might to stop Tehran from weaponizing its nuclear program, former IDF intelligence chief Amos Yadlin wrote Thursday.
US President Barack Obama must "shift the Israeli defense establishment's thinking from a focus on the 'zone of immunity' to a 'zone of trust'" Yadlin wrote in a New York Times op-ed.
Last month, Defense Minister Ehud Barak alluded to Israel's "red line," when it might feel the need to attack Iran, describing that point as when Iran reaches a "zone of immunity" from an effective Israeli attack."What is needed is an ironclad American assurance that if Israel refrains from acting in its own window of opportunity" to stop Iran's nuclear program, it will act itself to stop it.
If Obama does not give Israeli leaders those assurances, Yadlin warned in the New York Times, Israeli leaders "may well choose to act while they still can."The op-ed by the former IDF intelligence chief and Air Force pilot, who participated in the Israeli strike on Iraq's nuclear program in 1981, comes days ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to Washington. Scheduled talks between Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama were expected to focus on Iran, and especially on closing gaps between the two countries' definition of what constitutes a "red line" for Iran's nuclear program.
Yadlin also indicated that Israel's capability to effectively strike Iran should not be underestimated. Asserting that the United States was taken by surprise by Jerusalem's ability to destroy Iraq's Osirak reactor in 1981, he said it would be a mistake to once again underestimate the IDF's ingenuity.
Nonetheless, he admitted that the United States has military resources and technologies that allow it more freedom of action and the ability to carry out a deeper and more extensive campaign against Iran than Israel. Those capabilities, Yadlin explained, give Washington the luxury of more time to give sanctions and non-military measures a longer chance to become effective in stopping Iran's nuclear program.Hmmmm.......He doesn't even impose the full sanctions Congress Approved.....Good luck with that.Read the full story here.

Egypt - Freedom and Justice party Tourism Boosting Initiative Major Success.(IW).Positive feedback continued pouring in, on the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) program regarding tourism which was presented by Dr. Tarek Wafik, general supervisor of the FJP Tourism Committee, during 'The Future of Tourism in Egypt' conference which was organized under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism, attended by representatives from international tourism agencies and experts.
The party's program is focused on encouraging private sector and foreign investment in tourism, promoting and marketing tourism products and services in the Arab region and worldwide, in addition to stimulating domestic tourism.
According to Tarek Shalabi, Vice Chairman of Marsa Alam Investment and Tourism Association (MAITA), the FJP's program astounded all attendees.
Shalabi asserted that the FJP’s message was very clear and transparent, and genuinely prioritized tourism investment, placing right at the top of its agenda, for the near future, by promoting all types of tourism in Egypt without exception.Shalabi explained that the FJP’s clear vision allayed all former fears of foreign tour organizers regarding Egypt and its future in the tourism industry, who promised to relay this reassuring message abroad.
Further, Shalabi highlighted the importance of all other political parties and state institutions joining hands with the FJP in order to guarantee the success of its program. He expressed hope that Egypt's economy will be revived and public debt paid off within 6 months only, once tourism has recovered.
On a further note, Mohamed El-Sawy, Chairman of the PA’s Culture, Information and Tourism Committee, confirmed that the PA is preparing a ‘Tourism Document’ in all living languages of the world, announcing the Egyptian people's stance on tourism, and their commitment to respecting visitors of all faiths, and protecting human rights.
He called on all ministries and the government to support the tourism industry.
One of the delightful outcomes of the conference was the promise by leading tourism companies such as Thomas Cook and Tui Travel to put Egypt back in their tourist itineraries as soon as possible, praising the FJP’s program and expressing hope that it would improve Egyptian Tourism in a record time, if the country implemented the FJP program, which shows respect and appreciation for foreign tourists and promotes all types of tourism in Egypt.Hmmmm........Do their brochures mention 'Groping' included in the price?Read the full story here.

Turkish Women’s Shelter Foundation claims new Bill will not protect women.(HD).The Mor Çatı (Purple Roof) Women’s Shelter Foundation has said the new draft bill designed to prevent domestic violence is not capable of protecting women, but will only protect “women’s place within the family.”
“The draft bill doesn’t aim to protect women, it only aims to protect the traditional status of women, while five women are murdered by men related to them every day,” volunteer Özlem Özkan said at a press conference organized by the Mor Çatı Women’s Foundation. Lack of shelters:
Özkan said Mor Çatı provided support to 850 women who had been subjected to domestic violence between April 2010 and December 2011. She went on to say that even though there was an article in the law requiring local administrations to provide women’s shelters, there were still not enough shelters available for women.“Most of the women affected lack social security and they are not economically independent. This makes it much more difficult for them to get out of violent environments,” Özkan said. She also said that one of the biggest reasons for continuing domestic violence was the attitude of policemen, judges, prosecutors, and social service workers, who cling to a mentality that protects men rather than women. “Public officials generally have the sexist mentality which is common in society. This is why they question women who come to the police station or prosecutor with domestic violence complaints. These public officials have to be educated about domestic violence,” Özkan said.
Özkan added that 236 women’s associations had come together to prepare a draft for the new domestic violence law, but their input was completely ignored by the Family and Social Policies Ministry.Hmmmmmm...........According to official numbers of the General Police Directorate (EGM), 78,488 incidents of domestic violence were registered in the 19 months between February 2010 and August 2011.Considering that these are the incidents that were officially reported, it means that domestic violence in Turkish families happened once every ten minutes.Read the full story here.

Rumors that three Israeli soldiers would be stationed at the NATO radar site in Kürecik Stirr up protests.(HD).A total of 50 U.S. soldiers have arrived at a new NATO radar defense site in the village of Kürecik in the eastern province of Malatya.The soldiers are currently being housed in hotels, but will move to a 150-apartment residential complex that will be built for them near the radar site. The radar defense site is located in Kürecik, a town 64 kilometers from Malatya’s provincial center.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Malatya provincial head, Enver Kiraz, said the government was expected to announce the total number of U.S. soldiers that would be stationed at the site. “As local residents, it is our right to know the number of troops that will be stationed here.” He also said there were rumors circulating that three Israeli soldiers would be stationed at the radar site and would allegedly make key decisions there.
“Malatya’s security is in danger. We do not want this radar or U.S. troops here. It is not our job to protect Israel,” Kiraz said.
The opposition Felicity Party’s Malatya provincial head, Mehmet Asiltürk, also criticized the establishment of the radar site in Turkey, saying, “Turkey is being used to protect Israel.” Asiltürk said his party would investigate whether any Israeli soldiers would actually be stationed at the radar site. The site is currently being protected by the 2nd Military Command of the Turkish Army.The 50 US soldiers will be responsible for internal security at the Kürecik radar base.Hmmm.....Sounds like it will be surely needed with such 'allies'.Read the full story here.

U.S. warns against military action on Iran, imposes no new sanctions on Tehran.(AA).The White House warned on Wednesday that any military action against the Islamic Republic would create “greater instability” that could threaten the safety of Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The warning came days before a planned March 5 meeting between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.“Any military action in that region threatens greater instability in the region,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
Israel has given mixed messages in recent weeks on the possibility it might attack Iran to halt its controversial nuclear development program.Iran “borders both Afghanistan and Iraq,” Carney said during his daily press briefing. “We have civilian personnel in Iraq. We have military personnel as well as civilians in Afghanistan.”
So far, the United States has no conclusive evidence the Iranians are building a nuclear weapon, he said.The Obama administration is advocating for a political solution to the crisis that includes International Atomic Energy Agency monitoring of Iran’s nuclear program.“We continue to ratchet up the pressure on Tehran,” Carney said. “And I think it’s important to note that, while Tehran does not and has not lived up to its international obligations... we do have visibility into their programs.”
The Iranian government insists it is developing nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes, such as electrical generation and cancer treatment. The Iranians deny they plan to make nuclear weapons.The Israeli government has been vocal in contesting Iran’s claims that it seeks only peaceful use of nuclear energy.Carney said the lack of evidence of Iranian nuclear weapons has given the United States the “time and latitude to continue the policy we have applied since the president took office.”
The policy has focused on isolating Iran, such as through economic sanctions, until its government gives up its nuclear program.So far, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said he plans to continue his country’s nuclear program. However, he has sent negotiators to discuss the issue with Western countries.
Iran’s nuclear program will be the “main topic” of discussion when Obama and Netanyahu meet at the White House Monday, according to the Israeli prime minister.A congressional deadline for the Obama administration to begin enforcing new financial penalties on foreign firms that do business with Iran passed Wednesday with no fresh action from Washington.
While some congressional authors of a bill Obama signed December 31 expected the administration to announce new punishments on foreign banks, the Treasury Department said it did not have the authority to take that step now.
Some in Washington expected Obama to strengthen his position ahead of the high-stakes meeting by announcing fresh economic penalties that went into effect Wednesday. The penalties were included in a law Obama signed on December 31.
But the administration chose not to immediately take action, and officials disagreed about when they could. A Treasury official said the administration has been identifying financial institutions that may be involved with transactions that could be sanctioned so they would be prepared to act following the deadline.A senior Senate aide involved in Iran sanctions said that by not announcing new penalties Wednesday, the administration had failed to comply with the law as it was intended.
Both officials requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.The legislation said that “beginning on the date that is 60 days after the date of the enactment of this act, the president shall prohibit” any privately owned foreign financial institutions from engaging in significant non-oil transactions with Iran’s Central Bank. Oil sanctions would be added later under the same legislation.Hmmmm......Lets see the Obama Administration and the Muslim brotherhood gets Syria from Russia and Russia gets a get out of jail card for Iran?Read the full story here.

Two Bibles 'containing terror codes' found hidden in Bin Laden compound as it is demolished.(DM).Pakistani security officials have found two copies of the Bible at the house where Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden was killed.
The Christian holy books were discovered this week when demolition crews were sent in to tear down the compound in Abbottabad.They were so well hidden that security personnel had previously overlooked them.It is thought the English-print editions contain coded clues to future terror attacks, The Sun reported.
Pakistan's ISI security service also found two radio sets in a final sweep of the compound before demolition.The English-language Bibles - a bizarre find in the home of the world's most famous Islamic fundamentalist - contained pages that are folded-over and highlighted texts.
An ISI commanding officer told The Sun: 'The Bibles were in English and we cannot be sure why they were there. These copies were found as we checked the rooms for the final time before demolishing the building.'The radios are in working condition and will be given with the Bibles to the investigators. Some pages were folded and we will see later what was of most interest to Bin Laden.'Maybe he was looking for teachings of jihad.'
Bin Laden was killed at the compound by U.S. Navy SEALs last May after the biggest manhunt in history.On Tuesday, reports that bin Laden had been in contact with members of Pakistan’s spy agency, according to secret emails published by Wikileaks, had been rebuffed by a Pakistani military spokesman.An email, which was sent by an analyst at a global intelligence firm, Stratfor, suggested that up to 12 officials in Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had known of the al-Qaeda leader’s hideout
But spokesman for the army, General Athar Abbas, said the allegations surrounding the ISI were baseless. “They are nonsense and not credible,”Hmmm.....Let me guess the highlighted passage was:" Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." ~ Matt 26:52.Read the full story here, more here.

Moscow Seeking to Lift All Anti-Iran Sanctions.(Fars).Tehran - A high-ranking Russian diplomat said that Moscow is seeking to remove all the UN Security Council and the West's unilateral sanctions against Iran.
Russian Consul-General in Iran's Northern City of Rasht Maxim Baranov said that a relevant proposal is going to be put forward by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in an editorial in Moszkowski Novosti next Monday.
As regards the details of the article, Baranov said that the Russian premier will offer a removal of all sanctions against Iran in return for the International Atomic Energy Agency's tight control over all Iranian nuclear activities.
Putin, he said, will also caution the world, and specially the West, against the catastrophic outcomes of any possible military attack against Iran. "I am sure that the issue can be resolved through peaceful means and we (Russia) will propose that Tehran's right to continue peaceful nuclear program be accepted," Putin will say in his Monday article, according to Baranov.
But all these should take place in return for the IAEA's tight control over Iran's nuclear program, Baranov said. "All the existing sanctions against Iran, including unilateral sanctions, should be lifted and in return all Iran's nuclear activities should come under the assured and all-out control of the IAEA (over Iran's nuclear program)," Baranov added, elaborating on Putin's proposal.
Despite the rules enshrined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entitling every member state, including Iran, to the right of uranium enrichment, Tehran is now under four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions for turning down West's calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment.
Tehran has dismissed West's demands as politically tainted and illogical, stressing that sanctions and pressures merely consolidate Iranians' national resolve to continue the path.
All Iranian nuclear activities, notably uranium enrichment at Natanz and Fordo, are under the full supervision and monitoring of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Russian officials have on various occasions reiterated their country's strong opposition to fresh sanctions against Iran, and urged a negotiated end to the differences between Iran and the West. Read the full story here.

Ossuaries in first century Jerusalem tomb could be a direct link to Jesus.(GM)(TJD)..A team of international scholars claims to have found the first archaeological evidence dating from around the time Jesus lived, and which could be linked directly to his earliest followers.Exploring a previously unexcavated tomb three kilometres south of Jerusalem, the researchers discovered burial boxes, or ossuaries, decorated with early Christian iconography.Dropping a flexible, robotic camera into the cave, they found two limestone ossuaries decorated with carvings of a large fish that appears to be swallowing a man.
Until now, the earliest known Christian art, located in catacombs beneath the city of Rome and in Coptic caves in the Egyptian desert, dates from the late third or early fourth century AD.
The majority of the Rome images depict the Biblical story of Jonah and the whale, presumably because the term ‘the sign of Jonah’ is used by Jesus in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. The fish image was adopted by Jesus’ disciples to signal a belief in resurrection.They believed that Jesus, like the prophet Jonah in the Biblical account, was miraculously reborn after three days.
The new discovery, the scholars said, would appear to move the evidentiary clock back by at least 200 years if, as the scholars suggest, they date from before 70 AD, when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans.On another box in the tomb they found a Greek inscription which, translated, calls on God or Jehovah to rise up or to raise up, an apparent reference to resurrection.
The research team included Israeli archaeologist Rami Arav, of the University of Nebraska, and James Tabor, chair of the department of religious studies at the University of North Carolina.Read the full story here.

Update on Previous Post - Egypt lifts travel ban on pro-democracy workers.(BM).Egypt on Wednesday lifted a travel ban preventing 19 American and two German pro-democracy activists currently on trial in Cairo from leaving the country, judicial sources told dpa.
“Egypt’s general prosecutor ordered the cancelling of the travel ban on all activists,” the source said.A total of 43 activists are facing charges of receiving illegal foreign funding, meddling in politics and operating in Egypt without licenses. The non-governmental organizations involved include Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Washington-based International Republican Institute (IRI).Only seven of the US nationals were still in Egypt, where they have sought refuge at the American embassy in Cairo.It was not immediately clear when any of the activists involved in the case would leave the country.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told lawmakers in Washington that the US had not yet received confirmation that the travel ban had been lifted, but was working with Egyptian authorities on the matter.The move came just hours after the panel of judges hearing the trial resigned from the case.
Presiding Judge Mohamed Shukri did not give a reason for his decision to request the appointment of a new panel, according to local television reports.However, experts noted that in Egypt judges can resign while hearing a case if they conclude that prevailing circumstances are not conducive to a fair trial.Shukri’s decision was made after Egyptian authorities reportedly asked him to drop the travel ban on the 43 defendants, according to local media reports, citing unnamed sources.
The case has caused a rift between Egypt and Western powers, with the United States threatening to withhold 1.3 billion dollars in annual military aid to Egypt, its key Arab ally, if the activists were put on trial.On Tuesday, Clinton appeared to anticipate events by saying Washington and Cairo were moving toward a resolution “very soon.”
The trial opened in a Cairo criminal court on Sunday and was adjourned to April 26 after the defence asked for more time to prepare.Read the full story here.

The Egyptian government began taking steps to respond with the American offer to release 50 Egyptians being held in American prisons–including Shaykh ‘Umar ‘Abd-al-Rahman—in exchange for the release of 19 Americans accused in the case of foreign funding of civil society organizations.This is according to what was confirmed by Major General Muhammad Hani Zahir, an expert in military studies and international counterterrorism.Zahir in comments to the newspaper ‘al-Masriyun’ said it was necessary for Egypt to exploit America’s weak position, especially after condemning its citizens in cases affecting Egyptian sovereignty over its territory. He added that Egypt should not permit this exchange to take place unless the American administration agrees to release more than 500 Egyptians being held in American prisons, of whom the Egyptian foreign ministry knows nothing.

If the crux of this story is accurate, it will represent a modern variant of capitulation to the anti-modern dictates of jihad warfare. Jihad, this ancient, but vibrant Islamic institution grounded upon hatred of the non-Muslim infidel, has long used captured infidels—including, prominently, non-combatants seized as “booty” during endless, unprovoked incursions into the lands of the infidel—to ransom in exchange for captured murderous jihadists.Read the full story here.

Goodbye, First Amendment: 'Trespass Bill' will make protest illegal.(RT).
Just when you thought the government couldn’t ruin the First Amendment any further: The House of Representatives approved a bill on Monday that outlaws protests in instances where some government officials are nearby, whether or not you even know it.
The US House of Representatives voted 388-to-3 in favor of H.R. 347 late Monday, a bill which is being dubbed the Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011.
In the bill, Congress officially makes it illegal to trespass on the grounds of the White House, which, on the surface, seems not just harmless and necessary, but somewhat shocking that such a rule isn’t already on the books. The wording in the bill, however, extends to allow the government to go after much more than tourists that transverse the wrought iron White House fence. Under the act, the government is also given the power to bring charges against Americans engaged in political protest anywhere in the country.
Under current law, White House trespassers are prosecuted under a local ordinance, a Washington, DC legislation that can bring misdemeanor charges for anyone trying to get close to the president without authorization. Under H.R. 347, a federal law will formally be applied to such instances, but will also allow the government to bring charges to protesters, demonstrators and activists at political events and other outings across America.
The new legislation allows prosecutors to charge anyone who enters a building without permission or with the intent to disrupt a government function with a federal offense if Secret Service is on the scene, but the law stretches to include not just the president’s palatial Pennsylvania Avenue home. Under the law, any building or grounds where the president is visiting — even temporarily — is covered, as is any building or grounds “restricted in conjunction with an event designated as a special event of national significance."Covered under the bill is any person protected by the Secret Service. Although such protection isn’t extended to just everybody, making it a federal offense to even accidently disrupt an event attended by a person with such status essentially crushes whatever currently remains of the right to assemble and peacefully protest. Hours after the act passed, presidential candidate Rick Santorum was granted Secret Service protection. For the American protester, this indeed means that glitter-bombing the former Pennsylvania senator is officially a very big no-no, but it doesn’t stop with just him. Santorum’s coverage under the Secret Service began on Tuesday, but fellow GOP hopeful Mitt Romney has already been receiving such security. A campaign aide who asked not to be identified confirmed last week to CBS News that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has sought Secret Service protection as well. Even former contender Herman Cain received the armed protection treatment when he was still in the running for the Republican Party nod.In the text of the act, the law is allowed to be used against anyone who knowingly enters or remains in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority to do so, but those grounds are considered any area where someone — rather it’s President Obama, Senator Santorum or Governor Romney — will be temporarily visiting, whether or not the public is even made aware. Entering such a facility is thus outlawed, as is disrupting the orderly conduct of “official functions,” engaging in disorderly conduct “within such proximity to” the event or acting violent to anyone, anywhere near the premises. Under that verbiage, that means a peaceful protest outside a candidate’s concession speech would be a federal offense, but those occurrences covered as special event of national significance don’t just stop there, either. And neither does the list of covered persons that receive protection.Outside of the current presidential race, the Secret Service is responsible for guarding an array of politicians, even those from outside America. George W Bush is granted protection until ten years after his administration ended, or 2019, and every living president before him is eligible for life-time, federally funded coverage. Visiting heads of state are extended an offer too, and the events sanctioned as those of national significance — a decision that is left up to the US Department of Homeland Security — extends to more than the obvious. While presidential inaugurations and meeting of foreign dignitaries are awarded the title, nearly three dozen events in all have been considered a National Special Security Event (NSSE) since the term was created under President Clinton. Among past events on the DHS-sanctioned NSSE list are Super Bowl XXXVI, the funerals of Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford, most State of the Union addresses and the 2008 Democratic and Republican National Conventions.With Secret Service protection awarded to visiting dignitaries, this also means, for instance, that the federal government could consider a demonstration against any foreign president on American soil as a violation of federal law, as long as it could be considered disruptive to whatever function is occurring.When thousands of protesters are expected to descend on Chicago this spring for the 2012 G8 and NATO summits, they will also be approaching the grounds of a National Special Security Event. That means disruptive activity, to whichever court has to consider it, will be a federal offense under the act.And don’t forget if you intend on fighting such charges, you might not be able to rely on evidence of your own. In the state of Illinois, videotaping the police, under current law, brings criminals charges. Don’t fret. It’s not like the country will really try to enforce it — right? On the bright side, does this mean that the law could apply to law enforcement officers reprimanded for using excessive force on protesters at political events? Probably. Of course, some fear that the act is being created just to keep those demonstrations from ever occuring, and given the vague language on par with the loose definition of a “terrorist” under the NDAA, if passed this act is expected to do a lot more harm to the First Amendment than good.United States Representative Justin Amash (MI-03) was one of only three lawmakers to vote against the act when it appeared in the House late Monday. Explaining his take on the act through his official Facebook account on Tuesday, Rep. Amash writes, “The bill expands current law to make it a crime to enter or remain in an area where an official is visiting even if the person does not know it's illegal to be in that area and has no reason to suspect it's illegal.”
“Some government officials may need extraordinary protection to ensure their safety. But criminalizing legitimate First Amendment activity — even if that activity is annoying to those government officials — violates our rights,” adds the representative. Now that the act has overwhelmingly made it through the House, the next set of hands to sift through its pages could very well be President Barack Obama; the US Senate had already passed the bill back on February 6. Less than two months ago, the president approved the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, essentially suspending habeas corpus from American citizens. Could the next order out of the Executive Branch be revoking some of the Bill of Rights?Only if you consider the part about being able to assemble a staple of the First Amendment, really. Don’t worry, though. Obama was, after all, a constitutional law professor.When he signed the NDAA on December 31, he accompanied his signature with asigning statement that let Americans know that, just because he authorized the indefinite detention of Americans didn’t mean he thought it was right.Should President Obama suspend the right to assemble, Americans might expect another apology to accompany it in which the commander-in-chief condemns the very act he authorizes. If you disagree with such a decision, however, don’t take it to the White House. Sixteen-hundred Pennsylvania Avenue and the vicinity is, of course, covered under this act.It’s not just the president who would be spared from protesters, either. "Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty".~ Plato.Read the full story here.

Medical Study Confirms Gardasil Dangers Exposed By Judicial Watch.(JW).A new medical study confirms what Judicial Watch exposed years ago about a controversial vaccine fast-tracked by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to protect against a sexually transmitted disease; that the risks far outweigh the purported benefits.

In fact, the unknown dangers of a life-threatening adverse reaction to the vaccine—known as Gardasil—far outweigh the known risks of contracting the disease, according to the medical study conducted by two reputable Canadian researchers. Since 2007 JW has investigated the Gardasil scandal and exposed droves of government records documenting thousands of adverse reactions associated with the vaccine, including paralysis, convulsions, blindness and dozens of deaths.

Manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Merck, Gardasil is promoted as a miracle shot that can prevent certain strains of cervical cancer caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV). Instead it’s been linked to thousands of debilitating side effects, according to the government’s own daunting statistics, exposed in the course of JW’s ongoing probe. Based on the records JW published a special report in 2008 detailing Gardasil’s approval process, side effects, safety concerns and marketing practices. Undoubtedly, it illustrates a large-scale public health experiment.

Now a medical study, conducted by the University of British Columbia’s Neural Dynamics Research Group, collaborates the alarming side-effects of a vaccine that’s been shoved down the throats of unsuspecting victims by government at every level. Some 20 states have passed laws requiring funding for Gardasil or education programs promoting it. Among states that have enacted Gardasil-related measures are California, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Virginia, Maine and Utah. In all 50 states, tax dollars help pay for the costly shots ($360) because the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) makes them available through the federal Vaccines for Children program.

Before the Canadian study, first discovered by the Washington Examiner, there had been no solid medical research conducted on Gardasil. The newspaper cited it in a piece on Virginia rescinding its Gardasil mandate for pre-adolescent girls entering the sixth grade. The study lists the following Gardasil side effects: “Death, convulsions, paraesthesia, paralysis, Guillain–Barre syndrome, transverse myelitis, facial palsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, anaphylaxis, autoimmune disorders, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolisms and cervical cancers.”

The medical researchers also point this out in their report: “In the Western world, cervical cancer is a rare disease with mortality rates that are several times lower than the rate of reported serious adverse reactions (including deaths) from HPV vaccination.” In fact, the overwhelming majority (88%) of cervical cancer deaths occur in third world countries. Hmmmm.......no cases of "Tourette Syndrome"?Read the full story here.

Why is Obama in bed with the Muslim Brotherhood? “Obama is anti-Western, anti-Christian and antisemitic”(DocsTalk).(IsraPundit).By Ted Belman.
Dr. Essam Abdallah, an Egyptian liberal intellectual, in an article published last October in the leading liberal pan Arab, Elaph, refers to certain reports coming out of Washington:
“These reports reveal the depth of the below-the-surface coordination between the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Hamas, Hezbollah, the Iranian regime and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Libya and Jordan. This bloc of regimes and organizations is now becoming the greatest Islamist radical lobby ever to penetrate and infiltrate the White House, Congress, the State Department and the main decision making centers of the US government. All of this is happening at a time when the US government is going through its most strategically dangerous period in modern times because of its need to confront the Iranian Mullahs regime, which is expanding in the Middle East, as well as penetrating the United States, via powerful and influential allies.”“the popular revolts in the Arab world – and the Obama Administration’s position towards them – were determined by political battles between various pressure groups in Washington.”He followed up with another article this month in which he asks,
“why isn’t the West in general and the United States Administration in particular clearly and forcefully supporting our civil societies and particularly the secular democrats of the region? Why were the bureaucracies in Washington and in Brussels partnering with Islamists in the region and not with their natural allies the democracy promoting political forces?”
Steve Emerson of the Investigative Project on Terrorism said of this article, “This is one of the most important articles I have read in years.” He then made allegations of his own:

“It was just revealed two days ago that FBI Director Mueller secretly met on February 8 at FBI headquarters with a coalition of groups including various Islamist and militant Arabic groups who in the past have defended Hamas and Hizballah and have also issued blatantly anti-Semitic statements. At this meeting, the FBI revealed that it had removed more than 1000 presentations and curricula on Islam from FBI offices around the country that was deemed “offensive.” The FBI did not reveal what criteria was used to determine why material was considered “offensive” but knowledgeable law enforcement sources have told the IPT that it was these radical groups who made that determination. Moreover, numerous FBI agents have confirmed that from now on, FBI headquarters has banned all FBI offices from inviting any counter-terrorist specialists who are considered “anti-Islam” by Muslim Brotherhood front groups.”
This comes as no surprise to me. On August 2011, after making the case, I wrote, “To my mind, the alliance between the Obama administration and the Muslim Brotherhood is the cornerstone of Obama’s New Middle East policy.”.
The most damning bit of evidence was reported by Herb London in his article U.S. Betrays Syria’s Opposition:
“In an effort to understand and placate Syrian opposition groups, Secretary Clinton invited them to a meeting in Washington. Most of those invited, however, have links to the Muslim Brotherhood. Missing from the invitations are Kurdish leaders, Sunni liberals, Assyrians and Christian spokesmen. According to various reports the State Department made a deal with Turkey and Muslim Brotherhood representatives either to share power with Assad to stabilize the government, or replace him if this effort fails. One organization, the Syrian Democracy Council (SDC), an opposition group composed of diverse ethnic and religious organizations, including Alawis, Aramaic Christians, Druze and Assyrians was conspicuously — and no coincidentally — omitted from the invitation list.”
Caroline Glick wrote in August of last year: “What these observers fail to recognize is that Erdogan’s interests in a post-Assad Syria have little in common with US interests. Erdogan will seek to ensure the continued disenfranchisement of Syria’s Kurdish minority. And he will work towards the Islamification of Syria through the Muslim Brotherhood. “Today there is a coalition of Syrian opposition figures that include all ethnic groups in Syria. Their representatives have been banging the doors of the corridors of power in Washington and beyond. Yet the same Western leaders who were so eager to recognize the Libyan opposition despite the presence of al Qaeda terrorists in the opposition tent have refused to publicly embrace Syrian regime opponents that seek a democratic, federal Syria that will live at peace with Israel and embrace liberal policies.
“This week Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held a private meeting with these brave democrats. Why didn’t she hold a public meeting? Why hasn’t Obama welcomed them to the White House?
“By refusing to embrace liberal, multi-ethnic regime opponents, the administration is all but ensuring the success of the Turkish bid to install the Muslim Brotherhood in power if Assad is overthrown.”
The Syrian Democratic Coalition (SDC) above mentioned, is self-described as:
“The Syrian Democratic Coalition (SDC) is an emerging coalition of diverse Syrian organizations coming together to help bring an end to the Assad regime and promote the transformation of Syria into a secular democracy based in liberty. The coalition is founded upon a belief in the separation of religion from state and is dedicated to establishing a new constitution and transparent federal republic in Syria, based in reason that equally protects minority rights, promotes gender equality, and embraces the rights and liberties of every individual as enumerated in the United Nations Declaration for Human Rights. This growing coalition crosses all ethnic, religious and tribal lines to represent all Syrians. It currently includes members of Save Syria Now!, the Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria, the Union of Syrian Arab Tribes and the Syrian Christian Democratic Movement.”
Sherkoh Abbas is Secretary General of the Syria Democracy Council and President of the Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria. I first met him when he invited me to be a Director of the American Kurdish Friendship League some 5 years ago.Recently, he confided in me that in all his dealings with the State Department over the last two years, no interest was shown in his coalition and instead he was continually pressed to support the Syrian National Council made up of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists and Arabists. He believes that the U.S. is working with Salafi groups, and the Turkish government, to create an opposition in Syria that is strictly Islamist, and will thus serve Turkish economic interests in Syria, and keep the Kurdish issue as dormant in Turkey as well as in Syria.For the last six months at least Obama has been cultivating a relationship with PM Erdogan of Turkey. The budding relationship prompted Barry Rubin to ask, Why Is an Anti-American Islamist, Obama’s Favorite ME Leader? According to Sherkoh Abbas, one faction of the SDC had family connections in various Gulf States at the highest level and went to them for financial support. They were turned down as Obama had instructed them to only give money to the SNC. Nevertheless the SDC is gaining traction amongst the Kurds, Druze, Sunnis, Christians and even the Alawites. This is so because these various minorities are beginning to think of a post Assad Syria and they all want a region of their own. They have expressed their willingness to be secular, democratic and a friend of Israel and will be asked to commit to this in writing. They don’t want Islamism or Arabism. They prefer peace, freedom and prosperity. So why isn’t Obama embracing them?The Obama administration is totally in sync with the Muslim Brotherhood. At the renowned Herzlia Conference this year, I met Salman Shalkh, one of the speakers from Qatar. We had a long conversation in which he kept pushing for the Saudi Plan to be embraced by Israel. This is the plan that Obama is committed to, i.e., ’67 borders with mutually agreed swaps. He argued that Israel should talk to Hamas and I countered, “What’s the point, we have nothing to offer to them”. He was also an apologist for the Muslim Brotherhood. These arguments should be expected from someone from Qatar. Unfortunately, the same arguments are being made by the White House. It is instructive to note that he is Director of Brookings Doha, Center, in Qatar, the Arab offshoot of the Brookings Institute that has so much influence with the State Department. He told me that he was one of the people who drafted the Roadmap on behalf of the State Department. I told him that it didn’t surprise me and suggested that he probably drafted the Saudi Peace Plan for them, as well.
What is going on now in American Foreign Policy is not so much a product of the Islamist Lobby fueled by both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Gulf States as it is a product of a strategic alliance that has existed between the US and the Gulf States lead by Saudi Arabia since before Israel declared her independence. Unfortunately, President Obama with his overt embrace of Islam, Muslims and the Muslim Brotherhood, has taken it to another level. It would appear that the ideas expressed by Mearsheimer and Walt in their book, The Israel Lobby, are being embraced by both the State Department and the White House. These ideas include the idea that the Israel Lobby is too strong for America’s good and that Israel is a liability to America.
But the truth is otherwise, as John R. MacArthur pointed out in 2007, in The Vast Power of the Saudi Lobby:
“Somehow, though, I can’t shake the idea that the Israel lobby, no matter how powerful, isn’t all it is cracked up to be, particularly where it concerns the Bush administrations past and present. Indeed, when I think of pernicious foreign lobbies with disproportionate sway over American politics, I can’t see past Saudi Arabia and its royal house, led by King Abdullah.” This article is a classic and should be read in full.Obama has decidedly moved from an alliance with Israel to an alliance with the Islamists.
MK Aryeh Eldad in a speech he gave in the fall in the US, when Israel was intending to act against Iran militarily, said word came down from the White House that “if you act alone, you will remain alone”. Because Israel is so dependent on the US for resupply of weapons and munitions in a prolonged war, this threat changed the calculus immediately. It is true that when Mahmoud Abbas was threatening to go to the UN for recognition, the Obama administration lobbied around the world for negative votes. But at the same time, Obama threatened Netanyahu that he would withhold his veto if Israel took punitive action against the PA by annexing some of the territories or by withholding funds. Finally he used the same threat to get Israel to instruct AIPAC to lobby Congress not to punish the PA by withholding US funds. Over the last six months, Israel has been warned by a succession of senior military and administration officials not to attack Iran, at this time, all in the name of giving sanctions a chance. But who believes that sanctions will stop Iran. And who believes that that the US will in the end attack Iran to stop them.So while Obama is supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, he is keeping Israel under his thumb.Isi Leibler takes exception to all this and reminds everyone that:
“this organization [The Muslim Brotherhood] represents one of the most fanatical and dangerous of the radical Islamist groups in the region, with a dark record of violence and terrorism imbedded in its DNA. It is rabidly anti-Western, anti-Christian, antisemitic, committed to imposing sharia law and a global Caliphate – and willing to employ any means to further its objectives.”Many would argue that Obama is also “anti-Western, anti-Christian [and] antisemitic”. Judging by his policies, they would be right.Read the full story here.

ATF Implicated in another DHS Agent's Death; Where is Napolitano's Outrage?(BN).This new development could indicate that Rep. Darrell Issa and Senator Chuck Grassley have come into possession of the best evidence yet that ICE Agent Jaime Zapata's murder was a direct result of an ATF Fast and Furious type operation. It involves a man named Manuel Barba, whom I posted about here last week. Barba had been convicted of trafficking a weapon connected to Zapata's death without the Zapata family being notified. That is noteworthy in itself.On the heels of that astonishing news, Issa and Grassley have sent another letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and it contains information that may indicate exactly why the DOJ wanted to let Barba's prosecution fly under the radar.To this point, there have been three other men with ties to guns that were used in Zapata's murder but they reportedly weren't under ATF surveillance at the time. Though they had plenty of reason to be. The names of those three other men are Otilio and Rafael Osorio and Kelvin Morrison. The addition of Barba to this grouping may point directly to a Fast and Furious style operation that led to Zapata's murder, which would seemingly contradict a statement made by an ATF spokesman.Here is a portion of the letter to Holder I had sitting in my inbox from Issa Press Secretary Becca Watkins this morning.Read the full story here.

20 Signs That Dust Bowl Conditions Will Soon Return To The Heartland Of America.(BLN).By Michael Snyder.For decades, the heartland of America has been the breadbasket of the world. Unfortunately, those days will shortly come to an end. The central United States is rapidly drying up and dust bowl conditions will soon return. There are a couple of major reasons for this. Number one, the Ogallala Aquifer is being depleted at an astounding pace. The Ogallala Aquifer is one of the largest bodies of fresh water in the entire world, and water from it currently irrigates more than 15 million acres of crops. When that water is gone we will be in a world of hurt. Secondly, drought conditions have become the “new normal” in many areas of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and other states in the middle part of the country. Scientists tell us that the wet conditions that we enjoyed for several decades after World War II were actually the exception to the rule and that most of time time the interior west is incredibly dry. They also tell us that when dust bowl conditions return to the area, they might stay with us a lot longer than a decade like they did during the 1930s. Unfortunately, without water you cannot grow food, and with global food supplies as tight as they are right now we cannot afford to have a significant decrease in agricultural production. But it is not just the central United States that is experiencing the early stages of a major water crisis. Already many other areas around the nation are rapidly developing their own water problems. As supplies of fresh water get tighter and tighter, some really tough decisions are going to have to be made. Fresh water is absolutely essential to life, and it is going to become increasingly precious in the years ahead.Most Americans have never even heard of the Ogallala Aquifer, but the truth is that it is one of the most important bodies of water on the globe. It covers well over 100,000 square miles and it sits underneath the states of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming and South Dakota.Water drawn from the Ogallala Aquifer is used to water more than 15 million acres of crops. Without this source of water, the United States would not be the breadbasket of the world.That is why what is happening right now is so alarming.The following are 20 signs that dust bowl conditions will soon return to the heartland of America….

The Ogallala Aquifer is being drained at a rate of approximately 800 gallons per minute.

Decades ago, the Ogallala Aquifer had an average depth of approximately 240 feet, but today the average depth is just 80 feet. In some areas of Texas, the water is gone completely.Read the full story here.

Google offers $1 million reward to hackers who exploit Chrome.(DR).There's security and then there's security.Google has pledged cash prizes totaling $1 million to people who successfully hack its Chrome browser at next week's CanSecWest security conference.Google will reward winning contestants with prizes of $60,000, $40,000, and $20,000 depending on the severity of the exploits they demonstrate on Windows 7 machines running the browser. Members of the company's security team announced the Pwnium contest on their blog on Monday. There is no splitting of winnings, and prizes will be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis until the $1 million threshold is reached....At last year's competition, Internet Explorer and Safari were both toppled but no one even attempted an exploit against Chrome (despite Google offering an additional $20,000 beyond the $15,000 provided by contest organizer Tipping Point).Chrome is currently the only browser eligible for Pwn2Own never to be brought down. One reason repeatedly cited by contestants for its lack of attention is the difficulty of bypassing Google's security sandbox.Read the full story here.

Iran: Only military can decide if IAEA can visit Parchin.(JPost).TEHRAN - It is up to Iran's military to decide whether UN nuclear inspectors can visit a site they want to see as part of their investigation of Iranian nuclear activities, a senior Iranian official said on Wednesday.The UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said last week that it had requested access to the Parchin military facility during high-level talks in Tehran earlier this month, but that the Iranian side had not granted it.The IAEA had hoped that Iran would start addressing its mounting concerns about possible military links to the Iranian nuclear program but made no progress in its talks.Iran rejects Western accusations that it is secretly trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability and says it wants nuclear energy only for peaceful purposes, notably electricity generation and medical uses.The official IRNA news agency quoted Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, as saying IAEA inspectors could visit the country's nuclear sites "whenever they want."But "Whether or not IAEA inspectors can visit Parchin will be a decision for the country's military officials," he said, adding that his organization was under no obligation "to show them anywhere they ask to visit in the country."The IAEA's request to visit Parchin, a military complex southeast of Tehran, followed a report the Vienna-based agency issued in November suggesting Iran had pursued military nuclear technology. This helped precipitate the latest round of US and EU sanctions on Iran.The report said the IAEA had information that Iran had built a large containment chamber at the Parchin complex to conduct high-explosives tests. There were "strong indicators of possible weapon development," the agency said.Suspicions about activities at the Parchin complex date back at least to 2004, when a prominent nuclear expert said satellite images showed it might be a site for research and testing relevant to nuclear weapons.UN inspectors visited Parchin in 2005, but did not see the place where the IAEA now believes the explosives chamber was built.Read the full story here.

Gaza, Jerusalem, Nicosia, Baku.(HD).Since Turkey decided to isolate Israel in the aftermath of the Mavi Marmara raid in which Israeli commandos killed eight Turks and one Turkish-American in May 2010, the events have not exactly taken the route Ankara wished them to take. A well-deserved apology for the Israeli fiasco and the unnecessary loss of life has never arrived. Nor has compensation for the families of the victims. And the termination of Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip remains a Turkish dream. Meanwhile, two-way trade between Turkey and Israel rose by nearly 30 percent to $4.449 billion last year from $3.440 billion in 2010. In the same period, Turkish imports from the Jewish state rose more than 50 percent. Turkey’s “brotherly” relations with its southern and eastern Muslim neighbors – Syria, Iraq and Iran – have metamorphosed into something reminiscent of relations among brothers claiming the Ottoman throne. In the meantime, Israel has cultivated closer ties with Balkan countries such as Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Greece. It has also put in more effort to strengthen ties with Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, India and China. But the brawl goes on. In December, an Israeli defense company, Elbit, canceled a sale of hi-tech surveillance systems to the Turkish Air Force. More recently, Turkey imposed tighter restrictions on Israeli cargo flights entering the Turkish airspace, leading to economic losses for Israeli companies.If the “Israeli defense officials” chose the timing to announce the lucrative Azeri deal, they must have a genuine sense of humor: A $1.6 billion handshake between Israel and “one nation-two states” Azerbaijan on the same day when the other of the (one nation) two states was exhibiting solidarity for the Azeri victims of Karabakh in demonstrations previously unseen!If there is one region that is the ostensible reason for all this reshuffling of political balances in this part of the world, it is Gaza (see Ömer Çelik, deputy chairman of Turkey’s ruling party, who said that the “Gaza conflict is Turkey’s domestic issue”). If there should be another, it is Jerusalem.Now we have Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay swinging his sword in the Battle for Jerusalem. A few days ago, Mr. Atalay said Jerusalem had to be freed of Israeli occupation if a lasting settlement was to reign in the Middle East. “Without the liberation of Jerusalem,” he said, “No real peace and stability can be achieved.” Speaking at the International Conference for the Defense of Jerusalem in Doha, Qatar, Mr. Atalay described Jerusalem as “a captive city in the hands of Israel.”Hmmmm.......I think The US could solve it's energy probs if only they could catch and transform all the 'hot air' coming from Turkey in energy.Read the full story here.

Defense Minister: US to Face New Environment in Battle with Iran.(Fars).Tehran - Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi warned about the country's crushing response to any aggressive move by the enemies, and said Iran has not revealed all its capacities and capabilities and the US and its allies will face a new realm and environment if they dare to enter war with Iran. "Undoubtedly, since our defense is an independent and defensive one based on our own defensive policies, special defense doctrines and our own indigenous defense and internal capabilities, the US will face a completely new environment when gets involved with the new issues that Iran is pursuing and it will be obliged to think of this new environment," Vahidi told FNA on Tuesday. He underlined the US Armed Forces' passivity in confronting Iran's military programs, and said, "Naturally, they cannot reach this point since we have not displayed all our capabilities and capacities." Iran has recently renewed and upgraded the weapons and defense systems of its air defense units. Late in September, Iran equipped its air defense units across the country with large numbers of the home-made Mersad Air Defense Missile System. In November and during the massive air defense exercises in Iran, the power, capability, weapons and military systems of the Rapid Reaction units of Iran's Air Defense Force were tested. The Iranian Air Defense Force's rapid reaction units used their state-of-the-art, home-made weapons and systems, including multi-frequency radar equipment, anti-aircraft canons and different types of air defense missiles to force hypothetical enemy aircraft out of the country's air space. Later in the drills, the rapid reaction units tested their ability against the hypothetical enemies' surprised night raids and blitzkrieg with full radio silence.Read the full story here.

Al-Shabab Migrates to Yemen.(BM).SANA’A: Amid leaking intelligence pointing to the American militarization of the Arabian Peninsula, as it prepares for a potential armed conflict with Iran, and steps up its “War on Terror” in the region, officials in Somalia announced that hundreds upon hundreds of al-Shabab Jihadists fighters were headed for Yemen in a bid to join up with al-Qaeda there.Reports already confirmed that as many as 8 boats had left Kismayu port in Somalia for Yemen in the past 48 hours alone. Since informants advanced that each boat had an 100 person capacity, 800 armed militants could be now heading for the shore of the poorest and most unstable country in the Arabian Peninsula.The Jihadist mercenaries, also known as al-Mujahedeen al-Muhajereen (the migrants jihadists), could be now turning their attention towards Yemen and its Ansar al Shariah as they believe their task in Somalia complete, while Yemen’s campaign was only starting.Even since the beginning of the Yemeni popular uprising, al-Qaeda fighters in the country used the power vacuum left by the protests to further their territorial ambitions in the tribal southern provinces of Abyan and Mareb, seizing towns and villages.Emboldened by the government’s inability to thwart their moves, al-Qaeda declared a few months ago that it aimed at setting up an Islamic Caliphate in Yemen, returning to an ancestral governing system based solely on the Muslims scriptures.In February, al-Shabab declared in a statement that it was looking at partnering with al-Qaeda in Yemen in a bid to control the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, saying it had already sent dozens of fighters.Read the full story here.

Egyptian Newspaper Features Two Blood Libel Articles in a Single Day .( Algemeiner ).An Egyptian newspaper featured two articles on Tuesd...

In Memory Of Alexander Munch (1948 - 2012).

Israeli Six-Day War Vet.

Previous Blogs here and here."
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the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." George Orwell.

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Wafa Sultan .

"Telling the truth after proper investigation is the height of courage." - Wafa Sultan.

Ibn Q. al-Rassooli

I Stand With Israel !

Koran 7:7, where G-d Himself bequeaths the Land of Israel to the Jews, as a nation who thought themselves weak, and blesses them with goodness.Source

Shariah: The Threat to America

This book is based on the statements of the world's leading Shariah authorities and Shariah academic scholars.

The Abuse of Holocaust Memory.

Myths of Islam

"Religion does not require women to veil their hands, feet and faces or enjoin any special type of veil. Tribal custom must not impose itself on the free will of the individual."

Amanullah Khan - King of Afghanistan (1919-1929).

The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, head of Al-Azhar, the highest seat of learning in the Sunni world.“The niqab is a tradition and has nothing to do with Islam,” said Sheikh Tantawi, vowing to ban it in Al-Azhar schools.After the girl complied he insisted she should not wear it any more.“I tell you again that the niqab has nothing to do with Islam and it is only a mere custom. I understand the religion better than you and your parents.” The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar imam vowed to issue a ban against the face-veil in all schools linked to Al-Azhar.“Source

The Jewish Holocaust.

The Armenian Holocaust.

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